Mail-crane.



PATENTED MAY 3, 1904.

A. F. FINCH.

MAIL CRANE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 2z. 190s.

NO MODEL.

Invent, or

Witnesses.

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Patented May 3, 1904.

PATENT OFFICEe ABRAH F. FINO/H, OF BOONE, IOV A.

MAIL-CRANE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,830, dated May 3, 1904.

Application lerl June 22, 1903. Serial No. 162,503. (No model To @ZZ 1071/0711,/ 'if muy concern.'

Be it known tlratl,ABR.-\MF. FINcH,a citizen ofthe United States, r'esiding at Boone, in the county of Boone and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Mail-Crane, of which the following is a specitication.

The objects of my invention ar'e to provide a rnailcrane of simple, dur'able, and inexpensive construction, especially designed to be used without a platform or ladder', and so ar'- r'anged that when a mail-pouch has been removed therefrom both of the mail-pouchsupporting ar'ms will automatically swing' downwar'dly and away from the tr'ack, so as to avoid danger of having said arms strike passengers on railway-cars. In this connection it is to be understood that the top of a mailpouch rrrust be suspended about ten feet above the track-level, so that the mail-catcher's car'- ried by the mail-cars may engage said pouch, and it is also to be remembered that the arms for supporting the mail-pouch must project towar'd the track, so that if they ar'e left standing irr the position which they assumed in supporting' a mail-pouch they become dangerous to passengers riding upon cars on the track.

More specifically my object is to provide a pivoted upper arm for supporting a mailpouch, said arm normally hanging downwa"dly, so thata person of ordinary height standing upon the track-level may reach the lower end of the ar'nr and secur'e the top of the mail-pouch thereto.

A further object is to provide simple and easily-operated means whereby the operator' may elevate the upper arm, together with the pouch, to a substantially horizontal position and firmly lock it in such position, and, fur ther', to provide a pivoted lower ar'm which may easily be elevated by the oper'ator' and attach to the lower end of the suspended mailpouch and be held in a horizontal position by the mail-pouch, said pouch being' so arranged that when the pouch is removed fr'onr the arms the lower' arm will dr'op by gravity and automatically engage and release the lever' which supports the upper arm, so that the upper' arm will then be free to drop by gravity to a horizontal position.

My invention consists in certain details in the construction', arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows an improved mail-cr'ane in position for use supported upon two extended railway-ties. The dotted lines in said figur'e illustrate the positions the parts assume when the mail-pouch has been removed from the ar'rrr, and Fig. 2 shows a vertical central sectional View of the upper part of the mailcr'ane to illustrate the details of construction.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, l have used the reference-numeral 10 to indicate the railway-ties. VIn applying my mailcr'ane I preferably remove two of the short ties from the track and substitute two long ties in place of them, and the rnail-er'ane is attached to and supported by the extended ends of these long ties. The crane proper' comprises two upr'ig'hts 11, which may be made of met-al pipe. The lower' ends of these pipes ar'e supported by the ties 10 at a suitable distance fr'om the railway-rails. At a point about six feet above the ties or at a point that may be easily reached by the operator l place a cross-brace. This brace cornpr'ises two tees 1Q, which ar'e placed on the pipes 11 and which ar'e connected with each other by a short pipe 13, which is screwed into the tees. The tees are held in position on the pipes 11 by means of the pins 14:. Upon the pipe 13 l have rotatably mounted a sleeve 15, which may also bean ordinary tee, and in one of the branches ther'eof is the lower' mailpouch-supporting ar'rn 16, preferably screwed into the tee 15. This ar'm may also be a section of a pipe, and at its outer' end is a hook 17 to receive the lower' end of a mail-pouch. Any of the ordinary hooks for this purpose may be used. Immediately above the tees 12 is a plate 18, having' openings in its ends through which the standards 11 ar'e passed, said plate normally resting' on top of the said tees. This plate is designed for the purpose of pr'eventing the arm 16 from moving upwardly beyond a certain point or so far as to IOC) engage the upper arm, and it also serves as a stop to limit the movement of the upper arm, as will hereinafter appear.

The tops of the standards 11 are connected with each other by means of elbows 19,screwed to a pipe 20, thus firmly bracing the standards relative to each other. In constructing my crane the lower arm and plate 18 are placed on the standard before the top is secured thereto. Rotatably mounted upon the pipe 20 is a sleeve 21, the ends of which engage the adjacent ends of the elbows 19. This sleeve 21 is provided with an extension on one side into which the upper arm 22 is screwed, and it is also provided with a short extension 23 at its other side in line with the extension 22.'v On the outer end of the upper arm 21 is a hook 24C, to which a mail-pouch may be attached, and on the rear end of the part 23 is an eyebolt 25, to which a rod 26 is attached. The means for elevating the upper arm comprises a lever 27, fulcrumed to one of the standards 11 at a convenient height and passed through a loop or guard 28 on the adjacent standard. Fixed to the adjacent standard within the loop or guard is a lug 29, having an inclined upper surface and a substantially horizontal shoulder at its lower end. The lever 27 passes through the loop 28 and is capable of movement vertically and also outwardly away from the pipe 11, except as limited by the guard 28. vThe said rod 26 is attached to said lever 27, and obviously the upper arm 22 may be elevated by moving the lever 27 from its position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 downwardly to its position shown in solid lines in the same ligure, and then the lever may be locked in this position by passing the lever under the lug 29. In order to lower the arm 22, it is only necessary to move the ,lever 27 away from the standard 11 far enough to clear the lug 29, whereupon the weight of the arm 22 will elevate the lever 27. f

In practical use the parts are assembled as before described, and assuming-that both of thefarms are hanging downwardly and assuming that it is desired `to support a mail-pouch therein the operator places the top of the mail-pouch in engagement with the hook on the louter end of the upper arm. This he may do while standing upon the ties of the railway-track, because the outer end of the arm is arranged low enough to permit this. He then grasps the lever 27 and pulls it downwardly and places it in engagement with the lug 29. This moves the Lipper arm to a horizontal position and leaves the mail -pouch hanging from said arm. HeA then hooks the lower end rof the pouch to the lower arm, whereupon the pouch is supported in position to becaught by the mail-catcher of a passing mail-car in the ordinary way. When the pouch has been removed from the arms,

6'5 the lower arm 16 will drop by gravity and forcibly strike upon the lever 27 in a direction tending to push the lever 27 outwardly from engagement with its lug 29. When the lever is released from the lug, the weight of the arm 22 will cause it to drop downwardly from the standards and it will not be in position to strike persons on railway-cars on the adjacent track. The plate 18 will prevent the lower arm from swinging upwardly far enough to engage and become caught on the upper arm and all of the working parts of the device will be thoroughly protected from the weather, sov that they cannot be made inoperative on account of sleet or ice.

By securing the standards of my improved mail-crane to the railway-ties themselves I have provided means by which the supporting mail-pouch will always stand at the same height relative to the railway-track, for if the track rises and falls the pouch-support moves with it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor, isA

1. An improved mail-crane, vcomprising a standard, an upper mail-pouch-supporting arm pivoted to the standard and having an' extension in the rear of the standard, a rod pivoted tosaid extension, a lever pivoted to the lower portion of the standard and having said rod attached thereto, a hookfor engaging and supporting the lever at its lower limit of movement and a lower mail-pouch-supporting arm pivotally secured to the standard in such position that when released it will drop by gravity and strike said lever and remove it from its hook, for the purposes stated.

2. In a device of the class described, two tubular uprights, an elbow screwed to the top of each upright, a cross-piece screwed into both elbows, an arm pivoted to said crosspiece, two tees having said tubular uprights passed through them and fixed thereto, a cross-piece screwed into the tees, and an arm pivoted to the latter cross-piece.

3 In a device of the class described, the combination of two tubular standards, a fixed cross-piece at the top of the standards, an upper mail-pouch-supporting arm pivoted to the said cross-piece to swing downwardly by gravity when released, a cross-piece secured to the standards below the upper arm, a lower arm pivoted to the latter cross-piece, means for elevating the upper arm and for locking it in its elevated position, said means released by the fall of the lower arm.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of two tubular uprights, a rigid cross-piece connecting the upper ends thereof, a mail-supporting arm pivoted to said crosspiece, having at one end a hook for engaging a mail-pouch, said end normally hanging downwardly by gravity, and means for elevating the said arm and for securing it in an elevated position.

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5. In a device of the class described, the' combination of two parallel uprights, a rigid cross-piece at the top of the uprights, an arm pivoted to said cross-piece, a mail-pouch hook on said arm, a short extension on the other side or' the cross-piece, connected with the arm, a lever fulerumed to one ot' the uprights, a lug on the other upright to be engaged by the lever, and a rod connecting the lever with the said short extension.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of two parallel uprights, a rigid cross-piece at the top of the uprights, an arm pivoted to said cross-piece, a inail-pouch hook on said arms, a short extension on the other side of the cross-piece, connected with the arm, a lever fuleruined to one of the uprights, a lug on the other upright to be engaged by the lever, a rod connecting" the lever with the said short extension, and a lower arm pivoted between the u prights, arranged when released to strike the said lever and remove it from engagement with its lug.

'7. In a device of the class described, the combination of two tubular uprights, elbows at their upper ends, a cross-piece connecting said elbows, a sleeve rotatably mounted on said cross-piece, an arm secured to one side of the sleeve, a mail-pouch hook on the outer end of thearm, a short extension secured to the other side of the sleeve in line with the arm, a levei` fulerumed to one ot' the uprights near its lower end, a guard for the lever secured to the other upright, a lug for the lever, secured to the upright within the said guard, a rod connecting the lever with the said short extension, two tees secured to the uprights, a cross-piece connecting' said tees with each other, a sleeve rotatably mounted upon the cross-piece, an arm fixed to the sleeve, a mail-pouch-supporting hook in the outer end of said arm, said arm engaging said lever when released, and a stop supported by the uprights above the lower arm to limit its upward movement. substantially as and Vfor the purposes stated.

ABRAM F. FINCH.

Vitnesses:

F. L. MAYNARD, A. B. SILLIMAN. 

